Laser produced plasma EUV light source

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatus for producing EUV from plasma are disclosed. The apparatus includes a plasma generating system comprising a source of target material droplets and a laser producing a beam irradiating the droplets at an irradiation region. The plasma produces EUV radiation, wherein the droplet source comprises a nozzle having an orifice configured for ejecting a fluid and a sub-system having an electro-actuable element producing a disturbance in the fluid to cause at least some of the droplets to coalesce prior to being irradiated. The electro-actuable element is coupled to nozzle using an adhesive that has a high modulus at the nozzle operating temperature. Improvements also include tuning the nozzle assembly to more closely match the modulation waveform frequency with one of the resonance frequencies of the nozzle assembly by optimizing one of a mass, a shape, or material composition of at least one component in the nozzle assembly.

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/445,195, filed on Apr. 12, 2012, entitled LASER PRODUCED PLASMA EUV LIGHT SOURCE, which is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/721,317, filed on Mar. 10, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,158,960, issued on Apr. 17, 2012, entitled LASER PRODUCED PLASMA EUV LIGHT SOURCE; and which is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/827,803, filed on Jul. 13, 2007, issued on Mar. 1, 2011, as U.S. Pat. No. 7,897,947, entitled LASER PRODUCED PLASMA EUV LIGHT SOURCE HAVING A DROPLET STREAM PRODUCED USING A MODULATED DISTURBANCE WAVE; the entire contents of the above applications are hereby incorporated by reference herein.

The present application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/358,988 filed on Feb. 21, 2006, and published on Nov. 16, 2006, as U.S. 2006/0255298A1, entitled LASER PRODUCED PLASMA EUV LIGHT SOURCE WITH PRE-PULSE; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/067,124 filed on Feb. 25, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,405,416, issued on Jul. 29, 2008, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR EUV PLASMA SOURCE TARGET DELIVERY; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/174,443 filed on Jun. 29, 2005, entitled LPP EUV PLASMA SOURCE MATERIAL TARGET DELIVERY SYSTEM; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/358,983, filed on Feb. 21, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,378,673, issued on May 27, 2008, entitled SOURCE MATERIAL DISPENSER FOR EUV LIGHT SOURCE; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/358,992 filed on Feb. 21, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,598,509, issued on Oct. 6, 2009, entitled LASER PRODUCED PLASMA EUV LIGHT SOURCE; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/174,299 filed on Jun. 29, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,439,530, issued on Oct. 21, 2008, entitled, LPP EUV LIGHT SOURCE DRIVE LASER SYSTEM; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/406,216 filed on Apr. 17, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,465,946, issued on Dec. 16, 2008, entitled ALTERNATIVE FUELS FOR EUV LIGHT SOURCE; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/580,414, filed on Oct. 13, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,491,954, issued on Feb. 17, 2009, entitled, DRIVE LASER DELIVERY SYSTEMS FOR EUV LIGHT SOURCE; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/644,153 filed on Dec. 22, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,928,416, issued on Apr. 19, 2011, entitled, LASER PRODUCED PLASMA EUV LIGHT SOURCE; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/505,177 filed on Aug. 16, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,843,632, issued on Nov. 30, 2010, entitled EUV OPTICS; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/452,558 filed on Jun. 14, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,518,787, issued on Apr. 14, 2009, entitled DRIVE LASER FOR EUV LIGHT SOURCE; U.S. Pat. No. 6,928,093, issued to Webb, et al., on Aug. 9, 2005, entitled LONG DELAY AND HIGH ITS PULSE STRETCHER; U.S. application Ser. No. 11/394,512, filed on Mar. 31, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,415,056, issued on Aug. 19, 2008, entitled CONFOCAL PULSE STRETCHER; U.S. application Ser. No. 11/138,001, filed on May 26, 2005, and published on Nov. 24, 2005, as U.S. 2005/0259709A1, entitled SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR IMPLEMENTING AN INTERACTION BETWEEN A LASER SHAPED AS A LINE BEAM AND A FILM DEPOSITED ON A SUBSTRATE; U.S. application Ser. No. 10/141,216, filed on May 7, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,693,939, entitled, LASER LITHOGRAPHY LIGHT SOURCE WITH BEAM DELIVERY; U.S. Pat. No. 6,625,191 issued to Knowles, et al., on Sep. 23, 2003, entitled VERY NARROW BAND, TWO CHAMBER, HIGH REP RATE GAS DISCHARGE LASER SYSTEM; U.S. application Ser. No. 10/012,002, filed on Nov. 30, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,625,191, issued on Sep. 23, 2003; U.S. Pat. No. 6,549,551 issued to Ness, et al., on Apr. 15, 2003, entitled INJECTION SEEDED LASER WITH PRECISE TIMING CONTROL; U.S. application Ser. No. 09/848,043, filed on May 3, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,549,551, issued on Apr. 15, 2003; U.S. Pat. No. 6,567,450 issued to Myers, et al., on May 20, 2003, entitled VERY NARROW BAND, TWO CHAMBER, HIGH REP RATE GAS DISCHARGE LASER SYSTEM, U.S. application Ser. No. 09/943,343, filed on Aug. 29, 2001; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/509,925 filed on Aug. 25, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,476,886, issued on Jan. 13, 2009, entitled SOURCE MATERIAL COLLECTION UNIT FOR A LASER PRODUCED PLASMA EUV LIGHT SOURCE; the entire contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to extreme ultraviolet (“EUV”) light sources that provide EUV light from a plasma that is created from a target material and collected and directed to an intermediate region for utilization outside of the EUV light source chamber, e.g., by a lithography scanner/stepper.

BACKGROUND

Extreme ultraviolet light, e.g., electromagnetic radiation having wavelengths of around 50 nm or less (also sometimes referred to as soft x-rays), and including light at a wavelength of about 13.5 nm, can be used in photolithography processes to produce extremely small features in substrates, e.g., silicon wafers.

Methods to produce EUV light include, but are not necessarily limited to, converting a material into a plasma state that has at least one element, e.g., xenon, lithium or tin, with one or more emission line in the EUV range. In one such method, often termed laser produced plasma (“LPP”) the required plasma can be produced by irradiating a target material having the required line-emitting element, with a laser beam.

One particular LPP technique involves irradiating a target material droplet with one or more pre-pulse(s) followed by a main pulse. In this regard, CO₂ lasers may present certain advantages as a drive laser producing “main” pulses in an LPP process. This may be especially true for certain target materials such as molten tin droplets. For example, one advantage may include the ability to produce a relatively high conversion efficiency e.g., the ratio of output EUV in-band power to drive laser input power.

In more theoretical terms, LPP light sources generate EUV radiation by depositing laser energy into a source element, such as xenon (Xe), tin (Sn) or lithium (Li), creating a highly ionized plasma with electron temperatures of several 10's of eV. The energetic radiation generated during de-excitation and recombination of these ions is emitted from the plasma in all directions. In one common arrangement, a near-normal-incidence mirror (often termed a “collector mirror”) is positioned at a distance from the plasma to collect, direct (and in some arrangements, focus) the light to an intermediate location, e.g., focal point. The collected light may then be relayed from the intermediate location to a set of scanner optics and ultimately to a wafer. In more quantitative terms, one arrangement that is currently being developed with the goal of producing about 100 W at the intermediate location contemplates the use of a pulsed, focused 10-12 kW CO₂ drive laser which is synchronized with a droplet generator to sequentially irradiate about 40,000-100,000 tin droplets per second. For this purpose, there is a need to produce a stable stream of droplets at a relatively high repetition rate (e.g., 40-100 kHz or more) and deliver the droplets to an irradiation site with high accuracy and good repeatability in terms of timing and position (i.e. with very small “jitter”) over relatively long periods of time.

For a typical LPP setup, target material droplets are generated and then travel within a vacuum chamber to an irradiation site where they are irradiated, e.g. by a focused laser beam. In addition to generating EUV radiation, these plasma processes also typically generate undesirable by-products in the plasma chamber (e.g., debris) that can potentially damage or reduce the operational efficiency of the various plasma chamber optical elements. These debris can include high-energy ions and scattered debris from the plasma formation, e.g., atoms and/or clumps/microdroplets of source material. For this reason, it is often desirable to use so-called “mass limited” droplets of source material to reduce or eliminate the formation of debris. The use of “mass limited” droplets may also result in a reduction in source material consumption. Techniques to achieve a mass-limited droplet may involve diluting the source material and/or using relatively small droplets. For example, the use of droplets as small as 10-50 μm is currently contemplated.

In addition to their effect on optical elements in the vacuum chamber, the plasma by-products may also adversely affect the droplet(s) approaching the irradiation site (i.e., subsequent droplets in the droplet stream). In some cases, interactions between droplets and the plasma by-products may result in a lower EUV output for these droplets. In this regard, U.S. Pat. No. 6,855,943 (hereinafter the '943 patent) which issued to Shields on Feb. 15, 2005, and is entitled “DROPLET TARGET DELIVERY METHOD FOR HIGH PULSE-RATE LASER-PLASMA EXTREME ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT SOURCE” discloses a technique in which only some of the droplets in a droplet stream, e.g., every third droplet, is irradiated to produce a pulsed EUV light output. As disclosed in the '943 patent, the nonparticipating droplets (so-called buffer droplets) advantageously shield the next participating droplet from the effects of the plasma generated at the irradiation site. However, the use of buffer droplets may increase source material consumption and/or vacuum chamber contamination and/or may require droplet generation at a frequency much higher (e.g., by a factor of two or more) than required without the use of buffer droplets. On the other hand, if the spacing between droplets can be increased, the use of buffer droplets may be reduced or eliminated. Thus, droplet size, spacing and timing consistency (i.e., jitter) are among the factors to be considered when designing a droplet generator for an LPP EUV light source.

One technique for generating droplets involves melting a target material, e.g., tin, and then forcing it under high pressure through a relative small diameter orifice, e.g. 0.5-30 μm. Under most conditions, naturally occurring instabilities, e.g. noise, in the stream exiting the orifice may cause the stream to break-up into droplets. In order to synchronize the droplets with optical pulses of the LPP drive laser, a repetitive disturbance with an amplitude exceeding that of the random noise may be applied to the continuous stream. By applying a disturbance at the same frequency (or its higher harmonics) as the repetition rate of the pulsed laser, the droplets can be synchronized with the laser pulses. In the past, the disturbance has typically been applied to the stream by driving an electro-actuatable element (such as a piezoelectric material) with a waveform of a single frequency such as a sinusoidal waveform or its equivalent.

As used herein, the term “electro-actuatable element” and its derivatives, means a material or structure which undergoes a dimensional change when subjected to a voltage, electric field, magnetic field, or combinations thereof and includes, but is not limited to, piezoelectric materials, electrostrictive materials and magnetostrictive materials.

In general, for the application of single frequency, non-modulated waveform disturbances such as a sinusoidal waveform, the spacing between droplets increases as the disturbance frequency decreases (i.e., holding other factors such as pressure and orifice diameter constant). However, as disclosed in “Drop Formation From A Vibrating Orifice Generator Driven By Modulated Electrical Signals” (G. Brenn and U. Lackermeier, Phys. Fluids 9, 3658 (1997), the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein), for disturbance frequencies below about 0.3 υ/(πd), where υ is the stream velocity and d is the diameter of the continuous liquid stream, more than one droplet may be generated for each disturbance period. Thus, for a 10 μm liquid jet at a stream velocity of about 50 m/s, the calculated minimum frequency below which more than one droplet per period may be produced is about 480 kHz (note: it is currently envisioned that a droplet repetition rate of 40-100 kHz and velocities of about 30-100 m/s may be desirable for LPP EUV processes). The net result is that for the application of single frequency, non-modulated waveform disturbances, the spacing between droplets is fundamentally limited and cannot exceed approximately 3.33πd. As indicated above, it may be desirable to supply a sufficient distance between adjacent droplets in the droplet stream to reduce/eliminate the effect of the debris from the plasma on approaching droplet(s). Moreover, because the limitation on spacing is proportional to stream diameter, and as a consequence droplet size, this limitation can be particularly severe in applications such as LPP EUV light sources where relatively small, mass-limited, droplets are desirable (see discussion above).

With the above in mind, Applicants disclose a laser produced plasma, EUV light source having a droplet stream produced using a modulated disturbance waveform, and corresponding methods of use.

SUMMARY

The invention relates, in an embodiment, to a plasma generating system comprising a source of target material droplets and a laser producing a beam irradiating the droplets at an irradiation region. The plasma produces EUV radiation, wherein the droplet source comprises a nozzle having an orifice configured for ejecting a fluid and a sub-system having an electro-actuable element producing a disturbance in the fluid to cause at least some of the droplets to coalesce prior to being irradiated. The electro-actuable element is coupled to nozzle using an adhesive that has a high modulus at the nozzle operating temperature. In one or more embodiments, the adhesive is polyimide-based or bismaleimide-based.

In yet another embodiment, the invention relates to a method for tuning the frequency response of the nozzle assembly of a plasma generating system. The nozzle assembly is configured for ejecting target material droplets. The plasma generating system comprises the nozzle assembly and a laser producing a beam irradiating the droplets at an irradiation region. The plasma produces EUV radiation, wherein the nozzle assembly comprises a nozzle having an orifice configured for ejecting a fluid and a sub-system having an electro-actuable element producing a modulation waveform having a modulation frequency to cause disturbance in the fluid to cause at least some of the droplets to coalesce prior to being irradiated. The method includes ascertaining the frequency response of the nozzle assembly, including at least one resonance frequency. The method also includes modifying the nozzle assembly to cause the at least one resonance frequency to more closely match with the modulation frequency, wherein the modifying including optimizing one of a mass, a shape, or material composition of at least one component in the nozzle assembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a simplified, schematic view of a laser produced plasma EUV light source;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic a simplified droplet source;

FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate several different techniques for coupling an electro-actuable element with a fluid to create a disturbance in a stream exiting an orifice;

FIG. 3 (Prior Art) illustrates the pattern of droplets resulting from a single frequency, non-modulated disturbance waveform;

FIG. 4 illustrates the pattern of droplets resulting from an amplitude modulated disturbance waveform;

FIG. 5 illustrates the pattern of droplets resulting from a frequency modulated disturbance waveform;

FIG. 6 shows photographs of tin droplets obtained for a single frequency, non-modulated waveform disturbance and several frequency modulated waveform disturbances;

FIG. 7 illustrates a droplet pattern achievable using a modulated waveform disturbance in which droplet pairs reach the irradiation region allowing one droplet to shield subsequent droplet pairs from plasma debris;

FIG. 8 illustrates a droplet pattern achievable using a modulated waveform disturbance in which droplet pairs reach the irradiation region with a first droplet reflecting light into a self-directing laser system to initiate a discharge which irradiates the second droplet to produce an EUV emitting plasma;

FIG. 8A illustrates a droplet pattern in which droplet doublets reach the irradiation site with each droplet in the droplet doublet being irradiated to produce plasma;

FIG. 9 shows a representation of a square wave as a superposition of odd harmonics of a sine wave signal;

FIG. 10 shows images of droplets obtained with a square wave modulation at 30 kHz taken at ˜40 mm from the output orifice;

FIG. 11 shows images of droplets obtained with a square wave modulation at 30 kHz taken at ˜120 mm from the output orifice;

FIGS. 12A-D show experimental results for a rectangular wave (FIG. 12A) modulation including a frequency spectrum (FIG. 12B) for a rectangular wave; an image of droplets taken at 20 mm from the output orifice (FIG. 12C) and an image of coalesced droplets taken at 450 mm from the output orifice (FIG. 12D);

FIGS. 13A-D show experimental results for fast pulses (FIG. 13A) modulation including a frequency spectrum (FIG. 13B) for a fast pulse; an image of droplets taken at 20 mm from the output orifice (FIG. 13C) and an image of coalesced droplets taken at 450 mm from the output orifice (FIG. 13D);

FIGS. 14A-D show experimental results for fast ramp wave (FIG. 14A) modulation including a frequency spectrum (FIG. 14B) for a fast ramp wave; an image of droplets taken at 20 mm from the output orifice (FIG. 14C) and an image of coalesced droplets taken at 450 mm from the output orifice (FIG. 14D); and

FIGS. 15A-D show experimental results for a sine function wave (FIG. 15A) modulation including a frequency spectrum (FIG. 158) for a sine function wave; an image of droplets taken at 20 mm from the output orifice (FIG. 15C) and an image of coalesced droplets taken at 450 mm from the output orifice (FIG. 15D).

FIG. 16 shows a plot of the tensile modulus (Young's Modulus) of a typical epoxy with respect to temperature.

FIG. 17 shows a plot of a nozzle assembly frequency response, including an amplitude plot line and a phase shift plot line versus frequency.

FIGS. 18A and 18B show, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention, an implementation wherein a multi-piece electro-actuable element is coupled to the nozzle without using adhesive.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With initial reference to FIG. 1, there is shown a schematic view of an EUV light source, e.g., a laser-produced-plasma, EUV light source 20 according to one aspect of an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, and described in further detail below, the LPP light source 20 may include a system 22 for generating a train of light pulses and delivering the light pulses into a chamber 26. As detailed below, each light pulse may travel along a beam path from the system 22 and into the chamber 26 to illuminate a respective target droplet at an irradiation region 28.

Suitable lasers for use as the system 22 shown in FIG. 1 may include a pulsed laser device, e.g., a pulsed gas discharge CO₂ laser device producing radiation at 9.3 μm or 10.6 μm, e.g., with DC or RF excitation, operating at relatively high power, e.g., 10 kW or higher and high pulse repetition rate, e.g., 50 kHz or more. In one particular implementation, the laser may be an axial-flow RF-pumped CO₂ laser having a MOPA configuration with multiple stages of amplification and having a seed pulse that is initiated by a Q-switched Master Oscillator (MO) with low energy and high repetition rate, e.g., capable of 100 kHz operation. From the MO, the laser pulse may then be amplified, shaped, and/or focused before entering the LPP chamber. Continuously pumped CO₂ amplifiers may be used for the system 22. For example, a suitable CO₂ laser device having an oscillator and three amplifiers (O-PA1-PA2-PA3 configuration) is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/174,299 filed on Jun. 29, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,439,530, issued on Oct. 21, 2008, entitled LPP EUV LIGHT SOURCE DRIVE LASER SYSTEM; the entire contents of which have been previously incorporated by reference herein. Alternatively, the laser may be configured as a so-called “self-targeting” laser system in which the droplet serves as one mirror of the optical cavity. In some “self-targeting” arrangements, a master oscillator may not be required. Self-targeting laser systems are disclosed and claimed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/580,414, filed on Oct. 13, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,491,954, issued on Feb. 17, 2009, entitled DRIVE LASER DELIVERY SYSTEMS FOR BUY LIGHT SOURCE; the entire contents of which have been previously incorporated by reference herein.

Depending on the application, other types of lasers may also be suitable, e.g., an excimer or molecular fluorine laser operating at high power and high pulse repetition rate. Examples include, a solid state laser, e.g., having a fiber or disk shaped active media, an excimer laser having one or more chambers, e.g., an oscillator chamber and one or more amplifying chambers (with the amplifying chambers in parallel or in series), a master oscillator/power oscillator (MOPO) arrangement, a power oscillator/power amplifier (POPA) arrangement, or a solid state laser that seeds one or more excimer or molecular fluorine amplifier or oscillator chambers, may be suitable. Other designs are possible.

As further shown in FIG. 1, the EUV light source 20 may also include a target material delivery system 24, e.g., delivering droplets of a target material into the interior of a chamber 26 to the irradiation region 28 where the droplets will interact with one or more light pulses, e.g., zero, one or more pre-pulses and thereafter one or more main pulses, to ultimately produce a plasma and generate an EUV emission. The target material may include, but is not necessarily limited to, a material that includes tin, lithium, xenon or combinations thereof. The EUV emitting element, e.g., tin, lithium, xenon, etc., may be in the form of liquid droplets and/or solid particles contained within liquid droplets. For example, the element tin may be used as pure tin, as a tin compound, e.g., SnBr₄, SnBr₂, SnH₄, as a tin alloy, e.g., tin-gallium alloys, tin-indium alloys, tin-indium-gallium alloys, or a combination thereof. Depending on the material used, the target material may be presented to the irradiation region 28 at various temperatures including room temperature or near room temperature (e.g., tin alloys, SnBr₄) at an elevated temperature, (e.g., pure tin) or at temperatures below room temperature, (e.g., SnH₄), and in some cases, can be relatively volatile, e.g., SnBr₄. More details concerning the use of these materials in an LPP EUV source is provided in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/406,216, filed on Apr. 17, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,465,946, issued on Dec. 16, 2008, entitled ALTERNATIVE FUELS FOR EUV LIGHT SOURCE, the contents of which have been previously incorporated by reference herein.

Continuing with FIG. 1, the EUV light source 20 may also include an optic 30, e.g., a collector mirror in the form of a truncated ellipsoid having, e.g., a graded multi-layer coating with alternating layers of Molybdenum and Silicon. FIG. 1 shows that the optic 30 may be formed with an aperture to allow the light pulses generated by the system 22 to pass through and reach the irradiation region 28. As shown, the optic 30 may be, e.g., an ellipsoidal mirror that has a first focus within or near the irradiation region 28, and a second focus at a so-called intermediate region 40, where the EUV light may be output from the EUV light source 20 and input to a device utilizing EUV light, e.g., an integrated circuit lithography tool (not shown). It is to be appreciated that other optics may be used in place of the ellipsoidal mirror for collecting and directing light to an intermediate location for subsequent delivery to a device utilizing EUV light, for example, the optic may be parabolic or may be is configured to deliver a beam having a ring-shaped cross-section to an intermediate location, see e.g. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/505,177 filed on Aug. 16, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,843,632, issued on Nov. 30, 2010, entitled EUV OPTICS, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

Continuing with reference to FIG. 1, the EUV light source 20 may also include an EUV controller 60, which may also include a firing control system 65 for triggering one or more lamps and/or laser devices in the system 22 to thereby generate light pulses for delivery into the chamber 26. The EUV light source 20 may also include a droplet position detection system which may include one or more droplet imagers 70 that provide an output indicative of the position of one or more droplets, e.g., relative to the irradiation region 28. The imager(s) 70 may provide this output to a droplet position detection feedback system 62, which can, e.g., compute a droplet position and trajectory, from which a droplet error can be computed, e.g., on a droplet-by-droplet basis, or on average. The droplet error may then be provided as an input to the controller 60, which can, for example, provide a position, direction and/or timing correction signal to the system 22 to control a source timing circuit and/or to control a beam position and shaping system, e.g., to change the location and/or focal power of the light pulses being delivered to the irradiation region 28 in the chamber 26.

The EUV light source 20 may include one or more EUV metrology instruments for measuring various properties of the EUV light generated by the source 20. These properties may include, for example, intensity (e.g., total intensity or intensity within a particular spectral band), spectral bandwidth, polarization, beam position, pointing, etc. For the EUV light source 20, the instrument(s) may be configured to operate while the downstream tool, e.g., photolithography scanner, is on-line, e.g., by sampling a portion of the EUV output, e.g., using a pickoff mirror or sampling “uncollected” EUV light, and/or may operate while the downstream tool, e.g., photolithography scanner, is off-line, for example, by measuring the entire EUV output of the EUV light source 20.

As further shown in FIG. 1, the EUV light source 20 may include a droplet control system 90, operable in response to a signal (which, in some implementations may include the droplet error described above, or some quantity derived therefrom) from the controller 60, to e.g., modify the release point of the target material from a droplet source 92 and/or modify droplet formation timing, to correct for errors in the droplets arriving at the desired irradiation region 28 and/or synchronize the generation of droplets with the pulsed laser system 22.

FIG. 2 illustrates the components of a simplified droplet source 92 in schematic format. As shown there, the droplet source 92 may include a reservoir 94 holding a fluid, e.g. molten tin, under pressure. Also shown, the reservoir 94 may be formed with an orifice 98 allowing the pressurized fluid 96 to flow through the orifice establishing a continuous stream 100 which subsequently breaks into a plurality of droplets 102 a, b.

Continuing with FIG. 2, the droplet source 92 shown further includes a sub-system producing a disturbance in the fluid having an electro-actuatable element 104 that is operably coupled with the fluid 96 and a signal generator 106 driving the electro-actuatable element 104. FIGS. 2A-2D show various ways in which one or more electro-actuatable elements may be operably coupled with the fluid to create droplets. Beginning with FIG. 2A, an arrangement is shown in which the fluid is forced to flow from a reservoir 108 under pressure through a tube 110, e.g., capillary tube, having an inside diameter between about 0.5-0.8 mm, and a length of about 10 to 50 mm, creating a continuous stream 112 exiting an orifice 114 of the tube 110 which subsequently breaks up into droplets 116 a,b. As shown, an electro-actuatable element 118 may be coupled to the tube. For example, an electro-actuatable element may be coupled to the tube 110 to deflect the tube 110 and disturb the stream 112. FIG. 2B shows a similar arrangement having a reservoir 120, tube 122 and a pair of electro-actuatable elements 124, 126, each coupled to the tube 122 to deflect the tube 122 at a respective frequency. FIG. 2C shows another variation in which a plate 128 is positioned in a reservoir 130 moveable to force fluid through an orifice 132 to create a stream 134 which breaks into droplets 136 a,b. As shown, a force may be applied to the plate 128 and one or more electro-actuatable elements 138 may be coupled to the plate to disturb the stream 134. It is to be appreciated that a capillary tube may be used with the embodiment shown in FIG. 2C. FIG. 2D shows another variation, in which a fluid is forced to flow from a reservoir 140 under pressure through a tube 142 creating a continuous stream 144, exiting an orifice 146 of the tube 142, which subsequently breaks-up into droplets 148 a,b. As shown, an electro-actuatable element 150, e.g., having a ring-like shape, may be positioned around the tube 142. When driven, the electro-actuatable element 142 may selectively squeeze and/or un-squeeze the tube 142 to disturb the stream 144. It is to be appreciated that two or more electro-actuatable elements may be employed to selectively squeeze the tube 142 at respective frequencies.

More details regarding various droplet dispenser configurations and their relative advantages may be found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/358,988, filed on Feb. 21, 2006, published on Nov. 16, 2006, as U.S. 2006/0255298A1, entitled LASER PRODUCED PLASMA EUV LIGHT SOURCE WITH PRE-PULSE; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/067,124 filed on Feb. 25, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,405,416, issued on Jul. 29, 2008, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR EUV PLASMA SOURCE TARGET DELIVERY; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/174,443 filed on Jun. 29, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,372,056, issued on May 13, 2008, entitled LPP EUV PLASMA SOURCE MATERIAL TARGET DELIVERY SYSTEM; the contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

FIG. 3 (Prior Art) illustrates the pattern of droplets 200 resulting from a single frequency, sine wave disturbance waveform 202 (for disturbance frequencies above about 0.3 υ/(πd)). It can be seen that each period of the disturbance waveform produces a droplet. FIG. 3 also illustrates that the droplets do not coalesce together, but rather, each droplet is established with the same initial velocity.

FIG. 4 illustrates the pattern of droplets 300 initially resulting from an amplitude modulated disturbance waveform 302, which however is unlike the disturbance waveform 202 described above, in that it is not limited to disturbance frequencies above about 0.3 υ/(πd)). It can be seen that the amplitude modulated waveform disturbance 302 includes two characteristic frequencies, a relatively large frequency, e.g., carrier frequency, corresponding to wavelength λ_(c), and a smaller frequency, e.g., modulation frequency, corresponding to wavelength, λ_(m). For the specific disturbance waveform example shown in FIG. 4, the modulation frequency is a carrier frequency subharmonic, and in particular, the modulation frequency is a third of the carrier frequency. With this waveform, FIG. 4 illustrates that each period of the disturbance waveform corresponding to the carrier wavelength, λ_(c) produces a droplet. FIG. 4 also illustrates that the droplets coalesce together, resulting in a stream of larger droplets 304, with one larger droplet for each period of the disturbance waveform corresponding to the modulation wavelength, λ_(m). Arrows 306 a,b show the initial relative velocity components that are imparted on the droplets by the modulated waveform disturbance 302, and are responsible for the droplet coalescence.

FIG. 5 illustrates the pattern of droplets 400 initially resulting from a frequency modulated disturbance waveform 402, which, like the disturbance waveform 302 described above, is not limited to disturbance frequencies above about 0.3 υ/(πd). It can be seen that the frequency modulated waveform disturbance 402 includes two characteristic frequencies, a relatively large frequency, e.g. carrier frequency, corresponding to wavelength λ_(c), and a smaller frequency, e.g. modulation frequency, corresponding to wavelength, λ_(m). For the specific disturbance waveform example shown in FIG. 5, the modulation frequency is a carrier frequency harmonic, and in particular, the modulation frequency is a third of the carrier frequency. With this waveform, FIG. 5 illustrates that each period of the disturbance waveform corresponding to the carrier wavelength, produces a droplet. FIG. 5 also illustrates that the droplets coalesce together, resulting in a stream of larger droplets 404, with one larger droplet for each period of the disturbance waveform corresponding to the modulation wavelength, λ_(m). Like the amplitude modulated disturbance (i.e., FIG. 4), initial relative velocity components are imparted on the droplets by the frequency modulated waveform disturbance 402, and are responsible for the droplet coalescence.

Although FIGS. 4 and 5 show and discuss embodiments having two characteristic frequencies, with FIG. 4 illustrating an amplitude modulated disturbance having two characteristic frequencies, and FIG. 5 illustrating a frequency modulated disturbance having two frequencies, it is to be appreciated that more than two characteristic frequencies may be employed and that the modulation may be either angular modulation (i.e., frequency or phase modulation), amplitude modulation, or combinations thereof.

FIG. 6 shows photographs of tin droplets obtained using an apparatus similar to FIG. 2D with an orifice diameter of about 70 μm, stream velocity of ˜30 m/s, for a single frequency, non-modulated waveform disturbance having a frequency of 100 kHz (top photo); a frequency modulated waveform disturbance having a carrier frequency of 100 kHz and a modulating frequency of 10 kHz of a relatively strong modulation depth (second from top photo); a frequency modulated waveform disturbance having a carrier frequency of 100 kHz and a modulating frequency of 10 kHz of a relatively weak modulation depth (third from top photo); a frequency modulated waveform disturbance having a carrier frequency of 100 kHz and a modulating frequency of 15 kHz (fourth from top photo), a frequency modulated waveform disturbance having a carrier frequency of 100 kHz and a modulating frequency of 20 kHz (bottom photo).

These photographs indicate that tin droplets having a diameter of about 265 μm can be produced that are spaced apart by about 3.14 mm, a spacing which cannot be realized at this droplet size and repetition rate using a single frequency, non-modulated waveform disturbance.

Measurements indicated a timing jitter of about 0.14% of a modulation period which is substantially less than the jitter observed under similar conditions using a single frequency, non-modulated waveform disturbance. This effect is to achieved because the individual droplet instabilities are averaged over a number of coalescing droplets.

FIG. 7 shows a droplet pattern 600 produced using a modulated, e.g., multiple frequency, disturbance waveform (see also FIG. 6, fourth photo from top). Also shown, droplet pairs are formed at a selected distance from orifice 604. As shown, this droplet pattern in which droplet pairs reach the irradiation region allows droplet 608 a to establish an EUV emitting plasma upon irradiation by the laser 22′ while droplet 608 b shields subsequent droplet pair 610 from plasma debris.

FIG. 8 illustrates a droplet pattern 700 achievable using a modulated e.g., multiple frequency, disturbance waveform in which droplet pairs reach the irradiation region with a first droplet 702 a reflecting light into a self-directing laser system 704 to initiate a laser oscillation output laser beam which irradiates the second droplet 702 b to produce an EUV emitting plasma.

Self-directing laser system 704 is more fully described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/580,414, filed on Oct. 13, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,491,954, issued on Feb. 17, 2009, entitled DRIVE LASER DELIVERY SYSTEMS FOR EUV LIGHT SOURCE. See, in particular, FIG. 5 of U.S. Ser. No. 11/580,414, the entire contents of which were previously incorporated by reference. Although the following describes a laser system 704 corresponding to FIG. 5 of the Ser. No. 11/580,414 patent application, it is to be appreciated that this description is equally applicable to the other self-directed lasers disclosed in the Ser. No. 11/580,414 patent application (i.e., FIGS. 6-16.)

Continuing with FIG. 8, it can be seen that the self-directing laser system 704 may include an optical amplifier 706 a,b,c. For example, the optical amplifier 706 may be a CW pumped, multiple chamber, CO₂ laser amplifier amplifying light at a wavelength of 10.6 μm and having a relatively high two-pass gain (e.g., a two pass gain of about 1,000,000). As further shown, the amplifier 706 may include a chain of amplifier chambers 706 a-c, arranged in series, each chamber having its own active media and excitation source, e.g., electrodes.

In use, the first droplet 702 a of target material is placed on a trajectory passing through or near a beam path 710 extending through the amplifier 706. Spontaneously emitted photons from the amplifier 706, may be scattered by the droplet, and some scattered photons may be placed on path 710 where they travel though the amplifier 706. As shown, an optic 708 may be positioned to receive the photons on path 710 from the amplifier 706 and direct the beam back through the amplifier 706 for subsequent interaction with the second droplet 702 b to produce an EUV light emitting plasma. For this arrangement, the optic 708 may be, for example, a flat mirror, curved mirror, phase-conjugate mirror or corner reflector. An optical element 714, e.g., lens may be positioned to collimate light entering the amplifier 706 from the droplet and focus light traveling from the amplifier 706 to the droplet. An optional optical delay 716 may be provided to establish the required time delay between when the first and second droplets reach the irradiation region. One advantage of using different droplets is that the size of the droplets may be independently optimized for their specific function (i.e., reflection versus plasma production).

FIG. 8A illustrates a droplet pattern 700′ achievable using a modulated e.g., multiple frequency, disturbance waveform (described above), or a pulsed waveform (described below), in which droplet doublets reach the irradiation site with each droplet in the droplet doublet being irradiated to produce plasma. Specifically, both droplets in the doublet produce plasma and EUV light, and both droplets may be irradiated by a laser beam produced with a single gain inversion in the amplifiers 706 a′-c′. For this arrangement, an increased EUV output power may be obtained for each gain inversion relative to the EUV output produced with a single droplet. In some cases, it may be advantageous to use droplets, such that at least one droplet in the droplet doublet has a diameter, d, approaching the irradiation site, and center-to-center droplet spacing within each doublet, D, with d≦D≦4d. The droplets may be substantially equal in diameter, or one droplet may be larger than the other.

Continuing with FIG. 8A, it can be seen that the self directing laser system 704′ may include optical amplifiers 706 a′,b′,c′. For example, the optical amplifier 706′ may be a CW pumped, multiple chamber, CO₂ laser amplifier amplifying light at a wavelength of 10.6 μm and having a relatively high two-pass gain (e.g., a two-pass gain of about 1,000,000). As further shown, the amplifier 706′ may include a chain of amplifier chambers 706 a′-c′, arranged in series, each chamber having its own active media and excitation source, e.g., electrodes.

In use, the first droplet 702 b′ of target material is placed on a trajectory passing through or near a beam path 710′ extending through the amplifier 706′. Spontaneously emitted photons from the amplifier 706′ may be scattered by the droplet, and some scattered photons may be placed on path 710′ where they travel though the amplifier 706′. As shown, an optic 708′ may be positioned to receive the photons on path 710′ from the amplifier 706′ and direct the beam back through the amplifier 706′. A laser beam may then be established along beam path 710′ irradiating droplet 702 b′ and producing and EUV light emitting plasma and continue circulating in the optical cavity established between the plasma and optic 708′ until droplet 702 a′ reaches beam path 710′. Droplet 702 a′ is then irradiated to produce EUV light emitting plasma. For this arrangement, the optic 708′ may be, for example, a flat mirror, curved mirror, phase-conjugate mirror or corner reflector. An optical element 714′, e.g., lens, may be positioned to collimate light entering the amplifier 706′ from the droplet and focus light traveling from the amplifier 706′ to the droplet. In some implementations, the droplets in the doublet may coalesce forming an elongated droplet prior to, or during, irradiation.

With reference now to FIGS. 9-12, Applicants have determined that in addition to the modulated, e.g., multiple frequency, disturbance waveforms described above, other waveforms may be used to produce coalescing droplet streams that can be controlled to produce a stable stream of coalesced droplets below the frequency minimum (about 0.3 υ/(πd) as described above), that would otherwise limit stable droplet production using single frequency sinusoidal non-modulated waveform disturbances.

Specifically, these waveforms may produce a disturbance in the fluid which generates a stream of droplets having differing initial velocities within the stream that are controlled, predicable, repeatable and/or nonrandom.

For example, for a droplet generator producing a disturbance using an electro-actuable element, a series of pulse waveforms may be used with each pulse having sufficiently short rise-time and/or fall-time compared to the length of the waveform period to generate a fundamental frequency within an operable response range of the electro-actuatable element, and at least one harmonic of the fundamental frequency.

As used herein, the term fundamental frequency, and its derivatives and equivalents, means a frequency disturbing a fluid flowing to an outlet orifice and/or a frequency applied to a sub-system generating droplets, such as a nozzle, having an electro-actuatable element producing a disturbance in the fluid; to produce a stream of droplets, such that if the droplets in the stream are allowed to fully coalesce into a pattern of equally spaced droplets, there would be one fully coalesced droplet per period of the fundamental frequency.

Examples of suitable pulse waveforms include, but are not necessarily limited to, a square wave (FIG. 9), rectangular wave, and peaked-nonsinusoidal waves having sufficiently short rise-time and/or fall-time such as a fast pulse (FIG. 13A), fast ramp wave (FIG. 14A) and a sine function wave (FIG. 15A).

FIG. 9 shows a representation of a square wave 800 as a superposition of odd harmonics of a sine wave signal. Note: only the first two harmonics of the frequency f are shown for simplicity. It is to be appreciated that an exact square wave shape would be obtained with an infinite number of odd harmonics with progressively smaller amplitudes. In more detail, a square wave 800 can be mathematically represented as a combination of sine waves with fundamental frequency, f, (waveform 802) of the square wave and its higher order odd harmonics, 3f, (waveform 804), 5f (waveform 806); and so on:

${v(t)} = {\frac{4}{\pi}\left( {{\sin\left( {\omega\; t} \right)} + {\frac{1}{3}{\sin\left( {3\omega\; t} \right)}} + {\frac{1}{5}{\sin\left( {5\omega\; t} \right)}} + {\frac{1}{7}{\sin\left( {7\omega\; t} \right)}} + \ldots} \right)}$ where t is time, v(t) is the instantaneous amplitude of the wave (i.e. voltage), and ω is the angular frequency. Thus, applying a square wave signal to an electro-actuatable element, e.g., piezoelectric, may result in mechanical vibrations at the fundamental frequency f=ω/2π, as well as higher harmonies of this frequency 3f, 5f, etc. This is possible due to the limited and, in general case, highly nonuniform frequency response of a droplet generator employing an electro-actuatable element. If the fundamental frequency of the square wave signal significantly exceeds the limiting value of 0.3 υ/(πd), then the formation of single droplets at this frequency is effectively prohibited and the droplets are generated at the higher harmonies. As in the case of the amplitude and frequency modulation described above, droplets produced with a square wave signal have differential velocities, relative to adjacent droplets in the stream, that lead to their eventual coalescence into larger droplets with a frequency f. In some implementations, the EUV light source is configured such that a plurality of droplets are produced per period, with each droplet having a different initial velocity than a subsequent droplet, such that 1) at least two droplets coalesce before reaching the irradiation site; or 2) the droplets produce a desired pattern such as a pattern which includes closely-spaced, droplet doublets (see discussion below).

FIGS. 10 and 11 show images of droplets obtained with a square wave modulation at 30 kHz. With a simple sine wave modulation, the lowest modulation frequency where a single droplet per period can be obtained for the droplet generator used in this experiment was 110 kHz. The image shown in FIG. 10 was taken at ˜40 mm from the output orifice and the image shown in FIG. 11 was taken later at ˜120 mm from the output orifice where the droplets are already coalesced. This example demonstrates the advantage of using a square wave modulation to obtain droplets at a frequency lower than the natural, low-frequency limit of a particular droplet generator configuration.

Similar arguments can be applied to a variety of repetitive modulation signals with multiple harmonics having short rise-time and/or fall-time including, but not limited to, a fast pulse (FIG. 13A), fast ramp wave (FIG. 14A) and a sine function wave (FIG. 15A). For instance, a saw tooth waveform contains not only odd, but also even harmonics of the fundamental frequency and therefore can also be effectively used for overcoming the low frequency modulation limit and improving stability of a droplet generator. In some cases, a specific droplet generator configuration may be more responsive to some frequencies than others. In this case, a waveform which generates a large number of frequencies is more likely to include a frequency which matches the response frequency of the particular droplet generator.

FIG. 12A shows a rectangular wave 900 for driving a droplet generator and FIG. 12B shows a corresponding frequency spectrum having fundamental frequency 902 a and harmonics 902 b-h of various magnitudes for a period of the rectangular wave. FIG. 12C shows an image of droplets taken at 20 mm from the output orifice of the droplet generator driven by the rectangular wave and shows droplets beginning to coalesce. FIG. 12D shows an image of droplets taken at 450 mm from the output orifice after the droplets have fully coalesced.

FIG. 13A shows a series of fast pulses 1000 for driving a droplet generator and FIG. 13B shows a corresponding frequency spectrum having fundamental frequency 1002 a and harmonics 1002 b-i of various magnitudes for a period of the rectangular wave. FIG. 13C shows an image of droplets taken at 20 mm from the output orifice of the droplet generator driven by the series of fast pulses and shows droplets beginning to coalesce. FIG. 13D shows an image of droplets taken at 450 mm from the output orifice after the droplets have fully coalesced.

FIG. 14A shows a fast ramp wave 1100 for driving a droplet generator and FIG. 14B shows a corresponding frequency spectrum having fundamental frequency 1102 a and harmonics 1102 b-p of various magnitudes for a period of the rectangular wave. FIG. 14C shows an image of droplets taken at 20 mm from the output orifice of the droplet generator driven by the fast ramp wave and shows droplets beginning to coalesce. FIG. 14D shows an image of droplets taken at 450 mm from the output orifice after the droplets have fully coalesced.

FIG. 15A shows a sine function wave 1200 for driving a droplet generator and FIG. 15B shows a corresponding frequency spectrum having fundamental frequency 1202 a and harmonics 1202 b-l of various magnitudes for a period of the rectangular wave. FIG. 15C shows an image of droplets taken at 20 mm from the output orifice of the droplet generator driven by the sine function wave and shows droplets beginning to coalesce. FIG. 15D shows an image of droplets taken at 450 mm from the output orifice after the droplets have fully coalesced.

In accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention, it has been reasoned by the inventors herein that one of the areas of improvement in efficiently and accurately coalescing droplets relates to the performance of the bonding adhesive not at room temperature, i.e., the temperature at which installation, maintenance, upgrade and/or inspection is performed, but at the higher operating temperature when the behavior of such adhesive is not readily observable. To elaborate, it is realized by the inventors herein that a seemingly secure adhesive bond at room temperature (the temperature at which installation, maintenance, inspection and/or upgrade is performed) would soften and therefore negatively affect the transfer of acoustic/vibration energy between the electro-actuable element (such as the piezoelectric modulator in an embodiment) and the nozzle.

FIG. 16 shows a plot of the tensile modulus (Young's Modulus) of a typical high temperature epoxy adhesive (line 1602) with respect to temperature. As can be seen in FIG. 16, at room temperature of roughly 23 degrees Celsius, the material has a tensile modulus of about 1.82 GPa. The epoxy would appear solid and hard when the nozzle/electro-actuable element assembly is installed and/or inspected at room temperature. At a temperature of about 250 degrees Celsius, which approximates the operating nozzle temperature in many EUV systems, the tensile modulus drops to 0.06 GPa. At this operating temperature, the epoxy stiffness would be reduced and would proximate that of a hard rubber material.

It is reasoned by the inventors herein that although not readily observable, this softening of the epoxy that bonds the electro-actuable element to the nozzle detrimentally affects the ability of the acoustic vibration waves to be efficiently transmitted to the nozzle for generating the desired disturbance with the desired degree of precision. Such softening would not be detectable in an obvious way since the nozzle operates at a vastly different temperature than the room temperature at which the nozzle is installed or inspected and is essentially inaccessible during EUV generation operation. As mentioned, epoxy that appears to be hard and appears to solidly bond the electro-actuable element to the nozzle at room temperature would not give motivation to select other exotic high temperature adhesives without the aforementioned realization.

As is known to those skilled in the art, the group of resins intended for high temperature applications may include epoxy, polyester, vinylester, phenolic resins, cyanoacrylates, phenol-formaldehyde resins (i.e. Novolac), bismaleimides, and polyimides. In accordance with one or more embodiments, polyimide-based adhesive is selected for use in bonding the electro-actuable element to the nozzle. Even though polyimide-based adhesives are more expensive, more prone to moisture absorption, and tend to have lower bond strength than epoxy adhesive, the aforementioned realization that epoxy, while seemingly solid at room temperature, presents a high impedance to acoustic/vibration waveforms at the typical nozzle operating temperatures motivates the inventors herein to investigate polyimide-based adhesives for bonding the electro-actuable element to the nozzle. Polyimide-based adhesives retain much of their stiffness at higher temperatures and are thus more efficient at transmitting the acoustic/vibration energy from the electro-actuable element to the glass nozzle at typical operating temperatures (in the hundreds of degrees Celsius).

In accordance with one or more embodiments, bismaleimide-based adhesive is selected for use in bonding the electro-actuable element to the nozzle. Even though bismaleimide-based adhesives are more expensive, more prone to moisture absorption, and tend to have lower bond strength than epoxy resin, the aforementioned realization that epoxy, while seemingly solid at room temperature, presents a high impedance to acoustic/vibration waveforms at the typical nozzle operating temperatures motivates the inventors herein to investigate bismaleimide-based adhesive for bonding the electro-actuable element to the nozzle. Bismaleimide-based adhesives retain much of their stiffness at higher temperatures and are thus more efficient at transmitting the acoustic/vibration energy from the electro-actuable element to the glass nozzle at typical operating temperatures (in the hundreds of degrees Celsius).

Further improvement of the efficiency of transfer of acoustic vibrations from the electro-actuable element to the nozzle can be achieved by increasing modulus of the adhesive at operating temperature by way of introducing small particles of solid material to the adhesive. For example, microparticles of silver, silica, alumina, or another material with high modulus and with size significantly smaller than the gap between the electro-actuable element and the nozzle capillary can be used for this. In order to achieve an appreciable effect the combined volume of the added particles should be comparable to, or even greater than the volume of the adhesive, on the order of about 20 to about 90% of the total volume (total volume is the volume of the mixture that is a combination of added particles and resin), more preferably from about 40% to 80% of the total volume and in a preferred embodiment, between 50% to about 75% of the total volume.

Generally speaking, it is desirable to use an adhesive that has a modulus between 0.5 GPa (Giga Pascal) and 5 GPa at a nozzle operating temperature between 240 degrees Celsius and 270 degrees Celsius.

In accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention, it is realized by the inventors herein that the frequency response of the nozzle assembly (which comprises at least the nozzle, the electro-actuable element, and mechanism/arrangement that attaches the electro-actuable element to the nozzle) depends on a variety of factors, including the construction, the mass, the shape of the components, etc. These different factors result in different resonance modes, wherein the resonances occur at different frequencies. However, it is theorized by the inventors herein that if the resonance frequency of one of the resonance modes of the nozzle assembly can be made to coincide with the modulation frequency that is used to generate the disturbances, more efficient perturbation of the nozzle can be achieved from the applied modulation signal.

In accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention, the nozzle assembly is characterized by plotting the nozzle assembly frequency response versus frequency to ascertain the various resonance frequencies corresponding to the different resonance modes of the nozzle assembly. More importantly, the frequency response is measured while the nozzle assembly is at its expected operating temperature (such as for example about 250 degrees Celsius).

FIG. 17 shows a plot of such nozzle assembly frequency response. In FIG. 17, both the amplitude (1702) and the phase (1704) of the nozzle assembly electrical impedance are plotted against frequency. The impedance phase plot line 1702 shows clearly multiple resonance frequencies (shown by reference numbers 1712, 1714, 1716, for example). The lowest resonance frequency 1712 is shown to be about 250 kHz.

Thereafter, the nozzle assembly is modified such that one of the resonance frequencies matches the modulation frequency. For example, for ease of modification, the nozzle assembly may be modified such that the lowest resonance frequency 1712 is shifted toward (and more closely matches or ideally matches) the 40-80 KHz frequency of the modulation signal from its current value of 250 kHz. However, there is efficiency benefit by matching any resonance frequency (corresponding to the peaks of the phase shift plot for example) of the nozzle assembly with the frequency of the modulation signal through nozzle assembly modification.

Modification of the nozzle assembly for resonance matching may include, for example, one or more of changing the mass of the nozzle tube, changing the mass of the electro-actuable element, changing the shape of the nozzle tube, changing the shape of the electro-actuable element, changing the material of the electro-actuable element or of the adhesive employed to attach the electro-actuable element to the glass nozzle. Modification of the nozzle assembly may also include for example changing the shape and/or construction of the electro-actuable element, the shape and/or construction of the nozzle tube, or the manner by which the piezoelectric transducer and the nozzle are assembled together.

FIG. 18A shows, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, a sideview of a nozzle assembly 1802 wherein the use of adhesive for coupling the electro-actuable element 1804A/1804B to the nozzle 1806 is eliminated. Instead, a segmented electro-actuable element that includes a multi-piece (for example two-piece) electro-actuable element is employed for coupling with the nozzle. In the example of FIG. 18A, a two-piece electro-actuable element (such as piezoelectric modulator) comprising components 1804A and 1804B is shown. These components 1804A and 1804B may have any external shape, including brick-shaped, cubic shaped, or any other arbitrary shape if desired. A groove is formed in each component to accommodate nozzle 1806 such that the nozzle-facing surface of the groove mates in an adhesive-less manner with the component-facing surface of the nozzle to permit efficient acoustic/vibration energy transfer. A gap 1810 is shown to disposed between adjacent components of the electro-actuable element to accommodate thermal expansion/contraction as the temperature of the nozzle assembly changes. FIG. 18B is a view from direction 1820 of FIG. 18A to provide another perspective of the adhesive-less implementation.

In one or more embodiments, the multi-piece electro-actuable element is backed or surrounded (partially or wholly) by an appropriate enclosure or material that appropriately constrains the multi-piece electro-actuable element in place relative to the nozzle while still permitting some degree of movement for thermal expansion. By way of example, stiff resilient material or springs or adjustable screws/bolts or biasing members may substantially capture the multi-piece electro-actuable element in place and may apply a biasing force (shown in FIG. 18B) to force components of the multi-piece electro-actuable element against the nozzle for efficient acoustic/vibration disturbance transfer while still permitting some degree of movement to accommodate thermal expansion and contraction. In one or more embodiments, the enclosure and/or material backing or surrounding (partially or wholly) is chosen to have sufficient stiffness to reduce the displacement of the multi-piece electro-actuable element during operation while ensuring that the acoustic/vibration energy produced by the multi-piece electro-actuable element is directed primarily or solely at the nozzle and not lost by electro-actuable element displacement.

The use of a multi-piece electro-actuable element to surround and directly couple with the nozzle outer surface is desirable since the electro-actuable element and the nozzle typically have different thermal expansion rates. If the electro-actuable element had been a single piece and had simply enclosed the outer periphery of the glass nozzle, damage to the glass nozzle and/or the electro-actuable element may result due to thermal stress.

While the particular embodiment(s) described and illustrated in this patent application in the detail required to satisfy 35 U.S.C. §112 are fully capable of attaining one or more of the above-described purposes for, problems to be solved by, or any other reasons for, or objects of the embodiment(s) above-described, it is to be understood by those skilled in the art that the above-described embodiment(s) are merely exemplary, illustrative and representative of the subject matter which is broadly contemplated by the present application. Reference to an element in the following Claims in the singular, is not intended to mean nor shall it mean in interpreting such Claim element “one and only one” unless explicitly so stated, but rather “one or more”. All structural and functional equivalents to any of the elements of the above-described embodiment(s) that are known, or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art, are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the present Claims. Any term used in the Specification and/or in the Claims and expressly given a meaning in the Specification and/or Claims in the present application shall have that meaning, regardless of any dictionary or other commonly used meaning for such a term. It is not intended or necessary for a device or method discussed in the Specification as an embodiment to address or solve each and every problem discussed in this application for it to be encompassed by the present Claims. No element, component, or method step in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element, component, or method step is explicitly recited in the Claims. No claim element in the appended Claims is to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112, sixth paragraph, unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for” or in the case of a method claim, the element is recited as a “step” instead of an “act”. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for tuning the frequency response of a nozzle assembly of a plasma generating system, the nozzle assembly configured for ejecting target material droplets, the plasma generating system comprising said nozzle assembly and a laser producing a beam irradiating the droplets at an irradiation region, a plasma producing EUV radiation, wherein the nozzle assembly comprises a nozzle having an orifice configured for ejecting a fluid and a sub-system having an electro-actuable element producing a modulation waveform having a modulation frequency to cause disturbance in the fluid to cause at least some of the droplets to coalesce prior to being irradiated, comprising: ascertaining the frequency response of the nozzle assembly, including at least one resonance frequency; modifying said nozzle assembly to cause said at least one resonance frequency to more closely match with said modulation frequency, wherein the modifying including optimizing one of a mass, a shape, or material composition of at least one component in said nozzle assembly.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said frequency response comprises a plurality of resonance frequencies, said at least one resonance frequency represents a resonance frequency having the lowest frequency among said plurality of resonance frequencies.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein said modifying represents optimizing said mass.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein said modifying represents optimizing said shape.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein said modifying represents optimizing said material composition.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein said at least one component represents said nozzle.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein said at least one component represents said electro-actuable element.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein said electro-actuable element represents a piezoelectric modulator.
 9. The plasma generating system of claim 1 wherein the disturbance comprises a frequency-modulated waveform.
 10. The plasma generating system of claim 1 wherein the disturbance comprises an amplitude-modulated waveform.
 11. The plasma generating system of claim 1 wherein the disturbance comprises a series of pulsed disturbances, with each pulsed disturbance of the series of pulsed disturbances having at least one of a sufficiently short rise-time and sufficiently short fall-time to generate a fundamental frequency and at least one harmonic of the fundamental frequency. 